KUALA LUMPUR -- Malaysia will release the body of Kim Jong Nam to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and allow its nationals to leave, after the nine stranded Malaysian citizens in DPRK were freed, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said in a statement on Thursday.

Najib said the coroner's approval to release the body came after the completion of the autopsy and receipt of a letter from Kim's family requesting the remains to be returned to the DPRK.

For the nine Malaysian citizens, all diplomats and their family members, Najib said their plane took off from Pyongyang at 7:45 p.m. on Thursday and will land in Kuala Lumpur at around 5 a.m. Friday morning.